Croatia loses Ivan Perisic for Monday's match against Spain (6pm CET) in Copenhagen. The Inter winger tested positive for coronavirus last Sunday and must serve ten days of quarantine required by the protocol. The Croatian federation reported that it is the only case and that there are no close contacts either, because all the protocols have been followed, so the rest of the players traveled to Denmark normally this Sunday.
His absence is very important for Dalic, because he was being one of the most outstanding Croatian footballers in this European Championship: his are two of the four goals his team has scored in the championship. He made the tie (1-1) against the Czech Republic in the second game and closed the victory against Scotland (3-1) in the third.
Within the negative of the news, Dalic has the advantage that it is one of the positions that is best covered in the call. It has up to four alternatives to supply Perisic: Rebic, Brekalo, Orsic and Ivanusec.
The most logical and probable is Rebic, Milan winger (eleven goals in 33 games with his club this year), due to his experience in this type of tournament (he started in the World Cup final). His participation in this championship, for now, has gone from more to less. He started against England in the debut (78 '), repeated against the Czech Republic (he was substituted at half-time) and played only 9 minutes against Scotland from the bench. It has performed below its level, but it is the option that gives more guarantees a priori.
Another alternative is Brekalo, who this season has scored seven goals and four assists in 33 games for Wolfsburg. He has started only one game and was traded at halftime (against the Czech Republic). Against Scotland he saw the full duel from the bench and against England he had played the final 20 minutes.
The most daring option is Ivanusec, one of the young people who has burst into Croatia (22 years old). He is more midfielder than extreme, so with his entry Dalic's men would lose verticality and gain control of the ball, something that seems key against Spain. He has played 48 games this season with Dinamo Zagreb (9 goals and 5 assists) and in the European Championship he played the second half against the Czech Republic and 14 minutes against Scotland.
Finally, the one with the fewest options is Orsic, despite his good season at Dinamo Zagreb (24 goals and 9 assists in 51 games). He has only been called up in one of the three group stage matches (against the Czech Republic) and did not play a single minute. Therefore, the normal thing is that he is on the bench in case the game gets complicated, because he has a lot of scoring instinct, but if he is present in the eleven it is almost ruled out.